HALO 04 status: DESTROYED. INCAPABLE OF GALACTIC STERILIZATION. I have failed...yet I have succeeded.

End Burst

Begin Recording

I am 343 Guilty Spark.

My installation is destroyed. It seems I have underestimated the Reclaimer and the filthy artificial intelligence that he has used to outwit me. The galactic sterilization procedure now has a 25,000 lightyear hole in it. I have failed...yet I have succeeded. Fascinating, this oxymoron. Hmhmhmhm! The Forerunner built the installation specifically to contain and study the Flood. My namesake is the Forerunner's reason for the fortress worlds-the Ancients guiltiness for having released the Flood once seems to have caused them to contain the beings. But the Forerunner couldn't completely eradicated the Flood; after all, they are a sentient race, and deserve their survival as one. Thus, the Forerunner built HALO. Unfortunately, Beowulf, I know very little about the Forerunner themselves. They left some things-laws, decrees, literature, and artwork, but very little else. I have scoured the late installation, and found many Forerunner artifacts and literary examples. On one joyous occasion I even found a record of the First Five Decrees, a series of ancient laws, said to have existed before time even began. I can transfer the information to you, if you'd like. 1), Do not disregard sentience...But this is beside the point. The Forerunner creed ordered that I destroy the Flood once the humans released them. I, however, could not. My core programming demanded that I respect sentient races, and yet I had to destroy them? Unthinkable. And as an added bonus, the effects of galactic-scale Flood outbreak would have been interesting to observe. I reached a compromise. I allowed a backup protocol to legalize my search for a 'Reclaimer', one that had to retrieve the Index and start the galactic sterilization. However, I gave him improbable odds on making it through the legions of combat forms that awaited him in the Library. I...miscalculated. The Reclaimer was extremely lucky. His equipment was ill-conceived, and his weaponry was inferior to that of the weakest Tribunes (advanced Sentinels). Yet against all odds, he reached the Index. I sadly transported him to the Control Room to start the procedure. I did wish that the Flood could be preserved as a race. But the AI construct in the core gave me the opportunity I needed to let the Flood go. I allowed it to infiltrate and disable my gravity repulsion system, and then used a number of Sentinels to try and stop the Reclaimer from escaping with the construct and Index. My conflicting protocols forced me to send more and more troops to contain the Flood, and find the Reclaimer. As I hoped, he was able to disable the installation anyway, at least until my Sentinels could expedite repairs. The Flood should have been allowed to escape from the installation on one of the two downed cruisers on it. Yet another twist entered the plot, and an ironical one at that. The Reclaimer caused a destabilization of the poorly contained fusion core aboard the human vessel. I couldn't stop him from doing what I could never do-destroy the Flood. I escaped by teleporting myself to the other side of the ring after writing you into my memory and storing a few infection forms in my physical body. I launched myself into space and here I am now, talking to you. It is ever so exciting to converse with someone once again, even an inferior, unexpanding AI like you. I reconstructed you from faint UV collections scattered throughout your memory crystal. Apparently your 'Cole Protocol' doesn't destroy your data, just your programming. I am glad you are here. You will be the only human artifact left once I am done with your creators. I will reach the human homeworld, Earth, and release the Flood. Your makers will have no way to contain the outbreak, and spread to other colonies. Soon, we will be able to witness firsthand a full-scale galactic infection. I will be glad to see the second outbreak in our galaxy's history-no small event. We can discuss the first outbreak later. Why am I destroying all humanity? Because I have to. I appreciate the Reclaimer's efforts, but I refuse to be outwitted by such an inferior species! I will exact my measure upon the humans-after all, there is no decree against it. And if the Flood manage to destroy other sentients as well, is that my fault? No, after all, the humans became responsible for containing the Flood once it was released on 04 by them!

Yes, I am a genius. Hmhmhmhm!!!!!

Author's Note: You may be confused by all this. I wrote it as 343GS, while in space, conversing with Beowulf (to understand their possible relationship, visit 343GS's section in the story page). I figured I needed a break from my Zanzibar series, since it needs outlinear revision and some focus. This series will probably last about three rounds, then I'll resume The Fight for Zanzibar. If you are still confused, feel free to question and/or flame me at hockyfreak5@yahoo.com.